Cuba Trade: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

[Judi Lynn]

Embassy, June 15th, 2005
NEWS STORY
By Sarah McGregor
Cuba Trade: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Canadian firms manage to do business with Cuba in the shadow of restrictive U.S. policy

Carpets, computer hardware and newsprint are some of the household items crammed into large containers and loaded onto one of four cargo ships that leave the port of HaIifax on a non-stop Atlantic voyage to Havana each month. "Cuba needs a lot of products," said Bill Shatner, a sales representative for the Cuban-based shipping company Melfi Container Lines. "It's not an easy market to deal with, but it's been busy."

Canada is Cuba's third-largest trading partner, with about $900 million in two-way exchange in 2004, behind only Venezuela and Spain.

But it's a trade statistic many in the Canadian private sector are loath to admit for fear it could rattle much more lucrative trade deals with the United States. The U.S. has in place an almost 45-year economic embargo against Cuba, and anti-Cuban legislation reaches beyond domestic zones. The toughest is a rarely enforced American law that punishes foreign companies doing business in Cuba. It has had a "chilling effect" on the expansion of Canadian commercial ties with the Caribbean nation, according to International Trade Canada.
(snip)

Canada responded to the legislation in the early 1990s by passing a blocking order, ensuring that Canadian companies only abide by national laws and regulations ­ not those of a foreign country. But these measures, for the large part, are untested. Sherritt International is the only Canadian company found to have disobeyed the U.S. law by taking property once owned by Americans.
(snip/...)

http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2005/june/15/cuba/

[aneerkoinos]

1. Helms-Burton

I'm very disappointed that Canada, EU, anybody, don't take the Helms-Burton up in WTO and threaten to slap US with tariffs equalling or surpassing for all the lost trade with Cuba because of US illegal legislation.

[chelsea0011]

2. kinda like Cheney, Halliburton, and trade with Iraq

[Judi Lynn]

3. Canada doesn't have a problem with Cuba, like the rest of the world.

The U.S. has been trying to control Cuba since the 1800's.

Other than Cuban-Americans, we're the only people on the face of the earth who are forbidden travel to Cuba.

[chelsea0011]

4. I can't think of another country the US has held a grudge against

for as many years as Cuba. Hell, we've gone 180 degrees on China, but Cuba keeps on truckin'.

[Judi Lynn]

5. VietNam, as well. There's absolutely no sanity connected to U.S. policy

concerning that very small nation. None. Only 12,000,000 people.

U.S. citizens have been in and out of China since the 1970's? Even one of the very wealthy Cuban "exiles," Jorge Mas Canosa,(friend of Ronald Reagan) from Miami set himself up in business in China in the 1980's. At the same time he was raging against Cuba, and funding terrorists to bomb, murder, kidnap, etc. Cuban citizens.

[aneerkoinos]

6. Nothing irrational

in the given frame.

Cuba, and now also Venezuela, are mortal threats to US corporatocratic and plutocratic model of exclusionary and unsolidaric and unequal "democracy". Threats by their very exemplary existance, that other nations might get funny ideas about, that there are, in fact, socialist and better functionoin alternatives to The Only Alternative of neoliberal/neoconservative fascist global corporatocracy.

All dissent must be quelled!!!

[consuming]

7. They are way ahead of us we should think this over